Souvenir cigar-piercer.



E. F. RUECKERT.

souvzplm mm mnczn. APPLICATION FILED FEB. ll. I915.

1,190,326. Patented m 11,1916.

ATTO R N EY rrnn STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ERNEST F. RUECKERT, 0F PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND.

SOUVENIR crcan rmnonn.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 11, 1916.

Application fi1ed February 11, 1915. Serial No. 7,636.

To all whom it may concern I Beit known that I, ERNEST F. RUEOKERT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Providence, in the county of Providence and representation of some actual or fanciful object, whereby the two are combined into the form of a watch charm, and in such form may be sold as a souvenir of some place or event.

In accordance with the present invention there is provided a cigar piercer in combination with a small souvenir object representing in miniature a useful or a fanciful. device, and this cigar piercer is so constructed as to be of minimum length permitting the movements necessary for piercing the mouth end of a cigar, while at the same time the piercing device when inthe extended position does not at all protrusively project from the body thereof.

The invention will be best understood from a consideration of the following detailed description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings forming a part of this application, with the further understanding that while the drawings show a practical form of the invention, the latter is not confined to any strict conformity with the showing of the drawings, but'may be changed and modified so long as such changes and modifications mark no material departure from the salient features of the invention. r

In the drawings :Figure 1 is a front ele vation of a cigar piercer constructed in accordance with the present invention with the piercing mechanism mounted in the huh I of an automobile Wheel in miniature, so that the whole structure constitutes a watch charm, the showing of the drawing being on an exaggerated scale. Fig. 2 is a vertical diametric front to rear section of the structure of Fig. 1 considering the latter as hanging pendently. Fig. 3 is a section on the a "bottom plan view of the structure of Fig. 6 considering the piercerof Fig. 6 as being in the pendent position.

The cigar piercer comprises a body member 1 of cylindrical form with one end 2 closed and the other end freely. open for the full'internal diameter of the cylinder. 'Extending axially through the body member 1 is a tube 3 terminating in'a bevel end 1 which latter constitutes the active end of the piercer. Telescoping into the open end of the body member. 1 is a sleeve 5 having at one end a conical head 6 with the smaller end projecting into the sleeve 5 and there formed with an axial passage 7 through which the pointed end 4 of the piercing tube 3 projects. At diametrically opposite sides the walls of the body member 1 are pierced by longitudinally extended slots 8 extending from a point close to the head 2 for the major portion of the distance to the open end of the body member 1.

At that end of the sleeve 5remote from the head 6 and atwhich point the sleeve 5 is freely open, the edge of'the sleeve is incut at diametrically opposite points, to form tongues 9 which are outwardly bent so as to project oppositely one from the other. These tongues 9 enter and move in the slots 8, thus preventingthe sleeve 5 from moving outwardly'with respect'to the body member 1 for a distance greater than that permitted by the length of the slots 8. Lodged in the casing l is a spring 10 hearing at one end against the inner wall of the head 2 and at the other end entering the sleeve 5 and bearing against that end of the sleeve closed by the head 6, the spring being a helical spring and at. the correspondin'g'end surrounding the conical head 6. Thehead 6 has its basic end formed with an outstanding flange 11 serving as an abutment for engaging the corresponding end of the body 1 to thereby limit the travel of the sleeve 5 into the body member 1, while the tongues 9 limit the travel of the sleeve out of the body member 1.

The construction describedwith respect to the piercing device is of a character permitting a requisite extent of travel of the sleeve 5, while at the same time limiting the extreme length of the extended device to a minimum length, whereby the device is particularly adapted for lodgment in various souvenir miniature representations of commercial articles.

In Figs. 1, 2 and 3 there is shown the .and the greater portion of the sleeve 5 housed therein. The end of the body member 1 having the head 2 is arranged flush with one end of the hub to which it may be soldered or otherwise secured, while the other end of the piercing device {represented by the flange 11 is exterior to the corresponding end of the hub, but the parts are so proportioned that the flange 11 will move into the hub 15 at the corresponding end until further movement of the sleeve 5 is prevented by the abutment of the flange 11 with the corresponding end of the body member 1.

T o adapt the wheel 12 to use as a watch charm it has secured thereto a small ring 16 whereby it may be made fast to a watch chain. Instead of the wheel 12, the piercing device may be lodged in a fanciful casing 17 representing a caricature human face 18 with a widely ex sanded mouth 19 through which that end of the sleeve 5 carrying the conical head 6 projects. The caricature face 18 is shown as provided with a head covering 20, to one end of which there is secured a ring 21 whereby the device may be hung from a watch chain,

The conical head 6 is designed to receive and conform in shape to the mouth end of an. ordinary cigar and when such mouth end of the cigar is placed in the cap and pressure is applied, the end 4 of the piercing tube 3 enters the cigar and because the tube is hollow it will tend to remove a small portion of the cigar material, thus leaving the air passage requisite for smoking.

The representations of the automobile wheel and of the caricature face may be taken as indicative of any miniature representation, that of the face being purely imaginary or caricature like, while that of the wheel being taken as indicative of any commercial article. For instance, for an automobile convention the automobile wheel would be the form employed, for a base ball organization a miniature base ball might be employed, for a canners convention a miniature tin can would be employed, and so on. The cigar piercer structure is also useful in connection with cigar cases, match boxes and the like since, because of its minute size, it is especially adapted to be housed or incased therein Without obtrusively encroaching on the space provided for the storage of the articles that the cases or boxes are designed to contain. I

What is claimed is The attachment herein described comprising a cylindrical body member having one end closed and the other end open, and a rigid tube extending axially from the closed end and provided with a beveled extremity which projects beyond the free end of said member, a sleeve telescoping into the body member and having its outer end joined to a conical head which projects inwardly within the sleeve, the body member having diametrically opposite slots and the sleeve having tongues cut from diametrically opposite sides thereof at the inner end, said tongues and slots constituting means for guiding the movements of the sleeve and for retaining the sleeve and body member in interlocked relation, said head having an axial passage at its inner end which snugly receives the tube and through which the beveled end of the latter projects thereby closi u g ingress to the interior of the sleeve and body member, and a coiled spring bearing atone end against the closed end of the body member and at the other end encircling the conical head and bearing thereagainst, said attachment being insertible as a unit within a miniature representation of a useful or fanciful article to be used as a pendant.

In testimony, that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto afiixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

ERNEST F. RUECKERT.

Vitnesses GLADYS I. TYsoN, T. C. RUnoKER'r.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

